On Friday, it was announced that Steve Bannon was convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress. The former senior adviser to Donald Trump and founding member of the board of Breitbart News now faces a minimum of 30 days in prison.
During Monday’s edition of “New Day,” host John Berman had an intense back and forth with Bannon’s attorney David Schoen. While speaking on CNN and the first interview since the conviction, Schoen argued to have a “bulletproof” case to appeal the verdict.
He stated that the judge who oversaw Bannon’s case allegedly declined to provide him a deal with any lenience if he delivered the 11th-hour testimony he proposed to the Jan. 6 Committee.
“They refused to do that,” Schoen said. “The reason the appeal is bulletproof is the statute charges willful conduct.”
Berman then stepped in and said that Bannon and Peter Navarro were being charged with congressional contempt. However, others such as Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino have not been charged after talking with the committee.
Afterward, the CNN host stated that the former Trump aide “get bad legal counsel when the counsel told him not to cooperate?”
“I wouldn’t say so,” Schoen said. “There’s a whole body of authoritative opinions from the Justice Department called the Office of Legal Counsel Opinions. They’re binding on the Justice Department.
“What this lawyer relied on is six decades of those opinions that say if a current or former member of the executive branch is subpoenaed to Congress and executive privilege is invoked, then that person doesn’t have to show up.”
Bannon’s sentencing will occur on Oct. 21, where the maximum sentence he could face is two years.
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
